LONDON - More than ten thousand of British students took to the streets in central London on Wednesday to protest against university tuition fee rise and government's education fund cuts.

Under the watch of thousands of police officers, the students chanted slogans and raised banners and placards, which read "stop the white paper", "We won't pay for crisis" and "Tax the rich".

Several police helicopters hovered overhead and police officers condoned off entrances of part of the route while the demonstration went on.

An 18-year-old media student who asked not to be named told Xinhua that he used to pay 3,000 pounds ($4,800) a year but now the tuition fee has surged to nearly 10,000 pounds ($16,000) with no financial support from the government.

He said his mother has already paid taxes which should be used to help him with the tuition fee. "I just want to bring back our education fund," he added.

According to local media, 20 people have been arrested and a few hundred were still protesting.

The demonstration came almost a year after a series of student protests over tuition fees turned into violence and confrontation between students and police officers.

University tuition fees are set to rise to maximum 9,000 pounds ($14,000) a year in England next year, while universities in Wales are also raising their fees up to that maximum from autumn 2012, but only for students from outside Wales; in Scotland, Scottish students will continue to pay no fees, but fees of up to 9,000 pounds a year will be charged to students from other parts of Britain.

The British higher education white paper released earlier this year agreed to give private education institutions access to loans and the right to award degrees prompting fears that British higher education will be privatized.